The Lakers' prime bench acquisition, Antawn Jamison, is 252 in dog years.

Every day is veterans day in L.A.

"First of all," Charles Barkley once said about aging players, "you don't get better as you get older."

Barkley maintains, though, that older players do get smarter. The Lakers and coach Mike Brown will need to be geniuses to get through the regular season with enough left for the playoffs, where the young, whippersnapper Thunder likely awaits.

A Lakers' run to a title would be historic — and prehistoric.

Funny, but it's now the Lakers, not the Celtics, who should be on the receiving end of the old-folks jokes.

And it just so happens that if the Lakers can mimic their longtime Boston rivals, they can share history with them.

The Celtics won their league-leading 17th title, in 2008, throwing together the team after acquiring veterans Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen the previous offseason.

The Lakers, sitting on 16 championships, need to quickly summon some Celtics-like chemistry after adding Howard and Nash. The notion brings out the cynics, such as Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban.

"The Lakers have done this before," Cuban said. "Remember Gary Payton, Karl Malone and Kobe and Shaq were all together, and it didn't work.

"It takes great chemistry. ... It takes guys wanting to be there. I don't know if all their guys want to be there."

Not sure what Cuban means about some Lakers not wanting to be in Hollywood.

If he's referring primarily to Howard, fair enough. Howard wanted to join the Brooklyn Nets, reluctant to follow Shaq's footprints from Orlando to L.A. After that option dried up, he was, uh, stuck with playing for the Lakers, although he hasn't committed to re-signing.

Howard recently gave the Lakers hope by hinting he would (get used to it, Lakers fans). He has been working with L.A. legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and tweeted a picture of them together with a caption that read, "Me and @kaj33 together. For many years to come."

Howard will inherit Kobe's kingdom if he wants it. Let's face it: Even as a free agent next summer, Dwight won't find a better big-market/big-profile option.

Dwight turns 27 in December, and is the young-legs linchpin for the Lakers. He's their Thunder and Heat antidote, in theory.

But Dwight also should realize the clock is ticking on his new championship chase and second act. Because when Nash and Kobe fade from view, he'll need to round up another supporting cast at some point, and it won't be this dynamic.

Former PG Kevin Ollie inherited Jim Calhoun's job as head coach at Connecticut last week. Ollie, an ex-UConn player and assistant coach, played parts of two seasons with Orlando 1997-98 and 1998-99). … Looking for work, Tracy McGrady is drawing interest from the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. Sort of sad to see T-Mac, 33, still feeling the need to scratch that itch. With his brilliant career derailed by injury, we tend to forget that he recorded eight consecutive 20-point-plus seasons, four in Orlando. If you think Kevin Durant scores effortlessly, roll back some vintage T-Mac tape. … Former PG Maurice Evans, 33, is also without a team, but the Washington Wizards reportedly want him to join their front office. Interesting choice for Mo, considering he was a union leader during the owners' lockout. … Patrick Ewing, who ended his playing career in Orlando and was an assistant under Stan VanGundy, recently turned down a chance to coach the Knicks' D-League team, the Erie Bay Hawks. Ewing, looking to become a head coach in the majors, not the minors, understandably felt insulted by his old team.

The Big Tweaker

Even in his bustling retirement, Shaquille O'Neal has time to tweak Howard. Late in his career, Shaq often zinged him, especially when critics tried to comparing the centers. He also accused Howard of being a copycat after he adopted a Superman persona.

Asked for his reaction after Howard was dealt to L.A., O'Neal told the Times-Picayune, "I don't have a reaction. You have to care to have a reaction.

"I've got businesses to run. I always tell people that in order to step in my shoes you have big shoes to fill. For him, he's going to have to at least win three to get people's respect."